On October 11, 2025, according to various media reports, it has been confirmed that on September 12, Zong Fuli officially resigned from all positions including Chairman, legal representative, and director of Wahaha Group. This comes just over a year after the passing of her father, Zong Qing, the founder of Wahaha. Behind this personnel change lies a complex battle involving the use of the “Wahaha” trademark, the inheritance of a multi-billion-dollar estate, and struggles over control between state-owned shareholders and the family.
October 10th, as reported by Caixin Online and The Paper, Zong Fuli submitted her resignation to Wahaha Group on September 12, stepping down from all positions including legal representative, director, and chairman of the company. The related procedures have been approved through the shareholder meeting and the board of directors. Wahaha responded to Chinese media inquiries, confirming the news as “true.”
This signifies that Zong Fuli’s tenure as the head of Wahaha Group lasted only a little over a year, bringing an abrupt end to her second-generation succession path.
In fact, this wasn’t the first time Zong Fuli had tendered her resignation. In July of this year, she sent a resignation letter citing questions about the rationality of her management by the Hangzhou Shangcheng District government and some shareholders, leading her unable to continue fulfilling her managerial duties.
Following “friendly negotiations” among shareholders at that time, a statement was released on the Wahaha official website announcing Zong Fuli’s decision to continue in her role. However, less than three months later, the second-generation successor of Wahaha finally left the chairman seat left by her father, Zong Qing.
Data from Tianyancha shows that the equity structure of Hangzhou Wahaha Group Co., Ltd. includes the Hangzhou Shangcheng District Finance Bureau’s state-owned enterprise Wen Shang Lu Travel Investment Holdings Group holding 46% of the shares, making them the largest shareholder; Zong Fuli holding 29.4%, as the second largest shareholder; and the employee stock ownership plan holding 24.6%.
Despite resigning from all management positions, Zong Fuli still retains her shareholder status but has completely lost control over this family business.
According to the Economic Daily News, citing insider information, the core reason for Zong Fuli’s resignation was an issue regarding the compliance of using the “Wahaha” trademark. An internal document dated September 12 revealed that seven companies controlled by Zong Fuli under the “Hongsheng Group” had decided to completely switch to a new brand, “Waxiao Zong,” starting in 2026, completely abandoning the “Wahaha” brand.
The document emphasized that under the current equity structure, the use of the “Wahaha” trademark must be approved unanimously by all shareholders, otherwise, no party has the right to use it arbitrarily. Due to unresolved historical issues in the short term, the company’s operations faced ongoing legal risks and had to resort to a brand switch.
Tianyancha data shows that the “Waxiao Zong” trademark was applied for in May 2025 and is currently owned by the Hongsheng Group. Reports indicate that earlier this year, Zong Fuli attempted to transfer 387 “Wahaha” related trademarks to her personal holding company but was unsuccessful, exacerbating the conflict with state-owned shareholders.
The trademark battle extended beyond the group’s headquarters. Wahaha’s Shanghai factory introduced the “Huxiao Wah” branded bottled water due to brand licensing disputes. Zong Wei, the factory’s chairman, stated that after receiving a letter from Wahaha Group to cease using the “Wahaha” brand, he couldn’t reach Zong Fuli for resolving the issue. An investigation team sent by the Shangcheng District state-owned enterprise headed to the factory for inspection and explicitly disapproved of the trademark transfer.
Recently, Wahaha Group has been embroiled in a series of controversies. On October 2, Caixin Online revealed that Zong Fuli’s key confidant, Yan Xuefeng, was placed under investigation for suspected disciplinary violations by the Shangcheng District Discipline Inspection Commission in Hangzhou. Yan Xuefeng currently serves as the production center director of the Hongsheng Beverage Group and holds supervisory positions in nearly 190 affiliated Wahaha companies, playing a critical role in implementing business reorganizations for Zong Fuli.
Following the news of Yan Xuefeng’s investigation, rumors circulated in Hangzhou that Zong Fuli was also taken in for questioning. However, on October 9, a source close to Wahaha informed Yicai that Zong Fuli had gone to work as usual that day.
According to the latest report by Jiemian News on October 10, Yan Xuefeng was released from the investigation on October 5 and has since returned to work at Hongsheng Group. This three-day investigation appears to have been more like a warning from the state-owned shareholders holding 46% of the shares to Zong Fuli regarding her radical business adjustments.
In the report, it was mentioned that at the end of 2024, Zong Fuli ordered the overall transfer of Zhejiang Wahaha Drinking Water Company’s bottled water sales business to Hangzhou Xunerchengtong Commerce and Trade Co., Ltd, a company wholly owned by the Hongsheng Group controlled by Zong Fuli. This move turned the original water plant into a contract manufacturing factory, leading to a significant decline in revenue and profit.
Industry analysts believe that after taking over Wahaha, Zong Fuli implemented a series of drastic reform measures: gradually replacing personnel from 13 core departments with those from the Hongsheng Group, conducting a major reshuffle of board members and supervisors, and changing the contract entities of distributors in 12 provinces to Hongsheng Group companies.
At the same time, Wahaha Group closed down 18 factories in Shenzhen, Dali, Chongqing, among others, while Hongsheng Group continued to expand its production capacity. This series of actions plunged Zong Fuli into a whirl of public opinion regarding accusations of “emptying Wahaha” and “de-Wahaha-fication.”
Furthermore, Zong Fuli found herself embroiled in a billion-dollar estate dispute. On September 26, the Hong Kong High Court rejected an appeal application by the defendant, represented by Zong Fuli, to allow the temporary stay of a disclosure order. However, the court also approved a temporary stay of the disclosure order, allowing Zong Fuli not to disclose sensitive information such as the balance in her HSBC account and the destination of assets during the reapplication period for the appeal.
This estate lawsuit involves extensive assets in Hong Kong and overseas left by Zong Qing before his passing, with significant disagreements among the parties involved regarding the distribution of the estate. The escalating legal dispute undoubtedly deepened Zong Fuli’s predicament and added more uncertainty to her continued management of Wahaha.
Zong Fuli stepping down as the chairman of Wahaha Group marks a temporary conclusion to the months-long battle for corporate control. This Chinese beverage brand built single-handedly by Zong Qing is now facing an unprecedented crisis of division.